Benioff zone
(ˈbɛnɪəf) n (Geological Science) a long narrow region, usually adjacent to a continent, along which earthquake foci lie on a plane which dips downwards at about 45° and along which the oceanic lithosphere is thought to be descending into the earth's interior. Compare
subduction zone [C20: named after Hugo Benioff (1899–1968), American seismologist, who first discovered the phenomenon]
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